Kintsugi for Clothing

Mending garments with gold threads

Borrowing from the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold alloy, we’ve developed a kintsugi for clothing practice as a way to cherish
and extend the life of our favourite garments by gold thread visible mending.

The tools and materials to use for this task are simple - gold embroidery threads, sewing needles and snippers, wooden darning mushroom or the curved side
of a cup.

This kintsugi mending practice is not about achieving a perfect result. It’s partly a philosophical activity that’s defined by straightforward
repair and the practice of restraint. The gold threads are not used to embellish but to do the effective and symbolic work of darning and honouring
a broken moment. The fault is not relinquished but highlighted, the memory valued.

When you apply kintsugi practice to daily life, you’ll find yourself having more meaningful relationships with your belongings, your environment,
yourself and the people around you. You’ll learn to hold back from always wanting more. You’ll come to acknowledge and treasure your creases and cracks
as signs of strength rather than flaws and defects.